| Home | John Cabot (c.1450-1499)
John
Cabot, also known as Giovanni Cabato, was born in Genoa, Italy in 1476
Cabot dreamed of becoming a sailor. His dreams were similar to Columbus's
yet neither of the sailors knew of the other's existence. In 1480,
he moved to Bristol, England. Cabot was a navigator and a merchant.
He worked in the service of the king of England. Cabot was the first
person to claim that Columbus did not reach Asia. He said that Columbus
did not travel far enough to reach Asia. Cabot believed that there
was a western route to Asia, but unlike Columbus, he did not think it was
straight. He thought the best route was around the top of the land
mass. With his theory, he began to search for a northern route to
Asia. Cabot talked to King Henry VII and was given five ships for
his northern voyage. During his first three voyages, he had to turn
back for lack of food, problems among the crew, and weather problems.
From the port of Bristol, Cabot set sail on a fourth voyage and never returned.
There has not been a trace of him or his crew since. There have been
many theories, but still no one knows what really happened to Cabot and
his crew.
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